The Rattlestick Playwrights Theater production of The Hilltown Plays — a five-play cycle featuring the work of Lucy Thurber, including the world premieres of Ashville and Stay — ends its run Sept. 28 in the West Village.

Lucy Thurber
Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

The Hilltown Plays are staged on the Cherry Lane Theatre's studio and mainstages, as well as the Axis Theatre, the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and the New Ohio Theatre. The plays comprise Theater: Village, the inaugural West Village Theater Festival.

The Hill Town Plays, a collection of new and existing works, according to the Rattlestick, "tells the story of a woman who works her way into a new life from a childhood of poverty, alcoholism and abuse. Each play examines a pivotal stage of the character’s life, spanning from a childhood in a poor mill town in Western Mass through adulthood as a successful author. The Hill Town Plays investigate where we come from, what we dream of becoming and who we are."

The plays include Scarcity (directed by Daniel Talbott at the Cherry Lane Studio); Where We're Born (directed by Jackson Gay at the Rattlestick); Killers and Other Family (directed by Caitriona McLaughlin at the Axis Theatre); the world premiere of Ashville (directed by Karen Allen at the Cherry Lane Mainstage); and Stay (directed by GT Upchurch at the New Ohio Theatre). The Rattlestick previously produced Where We're Born, Killers and Other Family and Stay. Here's a look at the plays and their casts:

"A young Rachel watches her dejected father and mother deal with the day-to-day drudgery of their lives in a small Western Massachusetts town, determined to hold the family together while her older brother Billy looks for an escape. Their lives are interrupted by the comings and goings of equally desperate friends, and a teacher whose own desires disrupt everything in an unexpected way."

"Sixteen year-old Celia longs for more than her small Western Massachusetts town, but finds herself trapped in an unhealthy vicious cycle with her alcoholic mother and her burnout boyfriend, Jake. When Jake proposes to her, Celia must decide what she wants from her life – especially as a friendship with a neighbor becomes complicated."

"Home after her first semester at a prestigious East Coast college, Lilly is confronted with her working class roots and the ties that bind her to her rural Massachusetts town. Seeking solace in the home of her cousin Tony and his girlfriend Franky, Lilly struggles to bridge the gap between the girl she was and the young woman she is becoming."

"Trying to escape her painful past, Elizabeth has dedicated herself to finishing her dissertation and building a life with her partner, Claire. Their routine is disrupted by a visit from Elizabeth's brother and her troubled childhood lover, as they threaten to ruin all she's built and pull her back into a cycle of destruction."

"Years of hard work have finally paid off for Rachel, who now holds a coveted professorship and enjoys success as a published author. Her world is turned upside down when her degenerate brother appears on her doorstep and a brilliant but troubled student unleashes chaos in her life."